For those that know me well know that I have a slight, well… lets be honest, obsession with Kale.
It went from ‘like’ to ‘love’ once we moved to Germany where they view kale (grünkohl) as a seasonal vegetable which can only be bought from October - February. Seriously?! Only 4 months to enjoy my favorite food?!?
And to those Germans out there who tell me, “well you can buy it frozen all year round!” - I cannot make kale salad with frozen kale! And that is THE BEST thing you can do with kale!
So when it is “Kale Season”, we will literally eat kale every day. Seriously. Whether it is chopped up into a stuffed eggplant, in kale & chorizo soup, sautéed in an omelette or more often than not… in a kale salad.
We used to make the same kale salad with the same lemon mustard vinaigrette dressing (recipe here), but lately i’ve been experimenting… and I think I found my NEW FAVORITE KALE SALAD.
FRESH FIG & CRISPY PROSCIUTTO KALE SALAD
NOTES:
For the Kale Newbies out there (haha, see what I did there?) who need the full instructions on how to prep the kale, please check out my original Kale Salad blog post. It also has a video showing the MOST IMPORTANT STEP of any kale salad - massaging the kale. (blog post here).
I’m serious, do not skip the ‘massaging the kale’ step. This is what makes your kale go from rough to delicious!
We do not have the luxury of ‘bagged’ kale here in Germany, but if you buy the bagged kale, be sure to take the center ‘rib’ out or it will be tough to eat!
INGREDIENTS:
KALE SALAD:
1 large bunch of fresh kale or 1 big bag of kale
1 medium honey crisp apple
4 fresh figs
5 strips of prosciutto chopped into bite sized pieces
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
handful of almonds (or walnuts / pecans / etc)
MAPLE MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE:
2/3 cup olive oil (+ an additional olive oil for massaging kale)
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
2 TBS of maple syrup
1 TBS dijon mustard
salt & pepper to taste
METHOD
For more detailed instructions on prepping the kale, please check out my original blog post with images & videos. (here)
Prep the kale leaves depending on what was bought (bagged vs fresh). Wash thoroughly if fresh as they can still have dirt in the leaves. Take out the center ‘rib’ of the kale. Chop to small bite sized pieces and place into a large bowl.
Drizzle some olive oil and massage the kale. This is the most important step!
Add all of the vinaigrette ingredients into a bowl and whisk (or add into a closed tupperwear container and shake!). Drizzle over the massaged kale and use tongs to toss so the dressing is completely covering all the kale.
Heat a skillet over medium heat and add chopped prosciutto. Cook, stirring often until prosciutto has become slightly crispy on the edges. Remove from heat
Chop the figs into quarters & chop the apple into bite sized pieces.
Assemble the salad! Add crispy prosciutto, fresh fig pieces, apples, pomegranate seeds & nuts. ENJOY!!
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